Approval of Agenda

Council Member Scheid made a motion to approve the agenda as presented, supported by Council Member Feehan.

Mayor Gunderson asked to add guest David Hodges following public comment. 

The question on the motion was called and the result of the voting is as follows:

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson

            Nays:               None

Public Comments

There was no public comment.

Guest – David Hodges, Ionia County Commissioner

David Hodges stated they have a balanced budget for 2018, including a surplus.  The first payment for the courthouse addition was included in the budget.  There was no raise in taxes.  The courthouse addition blends well with the old historic courthouse.  The ribbon cutting will be held in March or April.  The plan for indigent defense has been approved.  A defense attorney will be appointed to them.  It will be out of the hands of the judges.  They will hire a public defender with three assistants.  They put new cameras in the police cars last year, including a camera in the back seat.  Regarding building permits in the county, there were 372 in 2013, 549 in 2014, 577 in 2015, 685 in 2016 and 814 in 2017.  Things are growing and it is a good sign of health for the county.  

Presentation

1. Audit Report – Vredeveld Haefner

Peter Haefner stated the report was for the period ending June 30, 2017.  The opinion on the city was on page 1, which was a clean opinion.  The major fund activities were summarized. They wanted to follow the Michigan Department of Treasury plan regarding Major and Local Street funds for Act 51.  The auditors assisted the city in preparing a modified cost allocation plan for the costs on some activities.  They began the process, but before the compliance audit was completed, the State abandoned the plan.  The State reimbursed the locals on costs incurred.  The city put additional funds into infrastructure during the year.  There was a slight drop in taxes due to the loss in personal taxes.  State revenue increased.  There was a positive gain in the Sewer Fund, which was good so the city can finance improvements without going to the debt market, and also to cover inflation.  The Water Fund had a positive increase in net position.  In the transit program, buses are financed by the state and federal government.  As assets depreciate, the fund will have a negative bottom line until additional buses are purchased for the fleet.  Fund balance falls in midrange with the other cities they audit.  Regarding the postemployment benefit plan, there is a new accounting standard to record a liability associated with the health plan next year.  He thanked the management team for meeting to look at costs and the allocation process.  They met four or five times and went through lots of information.

Consent Agenda

Reports by Council Liaisons

Council Member Feehan had no report.

Council Member Miller had no report.

Council Member Meyers stated the Rec Board met on January 8.  There was an update on applying for the ICCF grant for lighting and the walkway.  Ernie was discussing the needs at Demorest Field.  The board will meet with BYBL to go over the issues.  There was an update on the Beatnik Bazaar and Jenny Bennett talked about the growth over the last three years.  She deserves a lot of credit for what has happened over the last couple of years.  There was discussion on locating a permanent spot for the years to come. 

Council Member Scheid had no report. 

Mayor Gunderson had no report. 

Unfinished Business

There was no old business.

New Business

1. Award of bid for Front Street garage repair

The City Clerk read the preamble to the resolution.

Council Member Scheid moved the passage of the resolution and the motion was supported by Council Member Feehan.

Public Comments

There were no public comments.

City Manager Comments

City Manager Niemela stated the city has an opportunity to acquire the property adjacent to the police and DART garages.  They approached Bruce to see if the city was interested in the property to buy.  He didn’t see any interest from the notes.  The city manager then got a call from the owner, Crystal Flash, and they would like to donate the property to the city.  The concern the city had was regarding the environmental condition of the property, as it was used for above ground storage for fuels.  The city would insist on a Level 1 Environmental Assessment on the property and determine what would be required.  He asked the city council if the dialogue should be continued.  There is no solid plan should the city acquire the property.  One possibility would be for it to be a part of the trail, for a trailhead with parking and a facility in the future. 

It was the consensus of council to proceed with the investigation.  Mayor Gunderson stated if they are willing to pay for a Level 1, they should proceed with the investigation.

City Manager Niemela stated Mr. Bartholomew expressed concern about the address change for his street and he spent a lot of time going over all the information with him.  He appreciates him taking the time to come in. 

Mr. Bartholmew, 105 Stocking, stated the address has been changed, but it took time to go through the system.  As a city, they need to know what the process is. 

City Manager Niemela stated there is a break in the process and he is trying to fix it.  Ionia County has an addressing ordinance.  He looked into the process and found there is room for interpretation on how it works in Ionia County.  The Ionia County Road Commission has authority for naming the streets in the townships.  In the cities and villages, they have the authority.  The disconnect is in assigning the address.  It is lacking and it doesn’t say who is responsible for numbering.  It appears that the county assigns the numbers.  The county address coordinator notifies the post office, emergency 911, public health, the village and townships, and utilities serving the area.  He approached John Bush, who works with mapping, and found that he chooses the numbers.  It makes sense for the county to complete the process.  The county administrator is  favorable to following through on that.  The city would notify the county address coordinator and they would assign the number and follow the process to the end.  The board reviewing the addresses is police, fire and EMS.  He should hear back by next week. 

Council Comments

Council Member Meyers had no comments.

Council Member Scheid had no comments.

Council Member Feehan stated they have the budget coming up and asked if they should have residents meet to give ideas on what council should do with the budget before they start working on the budget?

Mayor Gunderson stated they could get the workshop set up, as they are collecting information from the department heads. 

City Manager Niemela stated the concern he has with the budget coming up, is whether they can create circumstances of higher expectations than what they can satisfy.  They need to get the numbers together and then decide on their direction.  Citizens may have expectations for more than what the city can do financially.

Mayor Gunderson stated if nothing else, one benefit would be to give council input from the public.  It could be an educational factor on how tight the budget is.  They are under a lot of restraints. 

City Manager Niemela stated the city has solid plans for sewer and water, and can invest extra resources.  He thinks they should see what they have and move from that direction.  If they put the expectations from the public ahead of that, they would be going backwards in the process.  There is a master plan for recreation and the board has come up with a review of the plans of the parks.  They could educate the public. 

Council agreed.

Council Member Miller had no comments. 

Mayor Gunderson thanked Peter for the audit.  He thanked DPW for keeping ahead of the ice, extreme cold and snow.  He appreciates staff involvement with the Act 51 scenario.  He thanked everyone for coming.

Council Member Meyers welcomed John back to the Rec Board.  He is a tireless member. 

Adjournment

Council Member Scheid moved to adjourn the meeting, supported by Council Member Feehan.

            Ayes:               Council Members Miller, Meyers, Scheid, Feehan and Gunderson 

            Nays:               None

The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 8:03 p.m.